Genesis 21

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref And the Lord came to Sarah as he had said and did to her as he had undertaken.

2 Ref And Sarah became with child, and gave Abraham a son when he was old, at the time named by God.

3 Ref And Abraham gave to his son, to whom Sarah had given birth, the name Isaac.

4 Ref And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham made him undergo circumcision, as God had said to him.

5 Ref Now Abraham was a hundred years old when the birth of Isaac took place.

6 Ref And Sarah said, God has given me cause for laughing, and everyone who has news of it will be laughing with me.

7 Ref And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would have a child at her breast? for see, I have given him a son now when he is old.

8 Ref And when the child was old enough to be taken from the breast, Abraham made a great feast.

9 Ref And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with Isaac.

10 Ref So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac.

11 Ref And this was a great grief to Abraham because of his son.

12 Ref But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name.

13 Ref And I will make a nation of the son of your servant-woman, because he is your seed.

14 Ref And early in the morning Abraham got up, and gave Hagar some bread and a water-skin, and put the boy on her back, and sent her away: and she went, wandering in the waste land of Beer-sheba.

15 Ref And when all the water in the skin was used up, she put the child down under a tree.

16 Ref And she went some distance away, about an arrow flight, and seating herself on the earth, she gave way to bitter weeping, saying, Let me not see the death of my child.

17 Ref And the boy's cry came to the ears of God; and the angel of God said to Hagar from heaven, Hagar, why are you weeping? have no fear, for the child's cry has come to the ears of God.

18 Ref Come, take your child in your arms, for I will make of him a great nation.

19 Ref Then God made her eyes open, and she saw a water-spring, and she got water in the skin and gave the boy a drink.

20 Ref And God was with the boy, and he became tall and strong, and he became a bowman, living in the waste land.

21 Ref And while he was in the waste land of Paran, his mother got him a wife from the land of Egypt.

22 Ref Now at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, I see that God is with you in all you do.

23 Ref Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living.

24 Ref And Abraham said, I will give you my oath.

25 Ref But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force.

26 Ref But Abimelech said, I have no idea who has done this thing; you never gave me word of it, and I had no knowledge of it till this day.

27 Ref And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement together.

28 And Abraham put seven young lambs of the flock on one side by themselves.

29 Ref Then Abimelech said, What are these seven lambs which you have put on one side?

30 Ref And he said, Take these seven lambs from me as a witness that I have made this water-hole.

31 Ref So he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths.

32 Ref So they made an agreement at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.

33 Ref And Abraham, after planting a holy tree in Beer-sheba, gave worship to the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.

34 Ref And Abraham went on living in the land of the Philistines as in a strange country.

World English Bible (WEB)

1 Ref Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken.

2 Ref Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

3 Ref Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.{Isaac means "He laughs."}

4 Ref Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 Ref Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him.

6 Ref Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me."

7 Ref She said, "Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

8 Ref The child grew, and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9 Ref Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

10 Ref Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this handmaid and her son! For the son of this handmaid will not be heir with my son, even with Isaac."

11 Ref The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son.

12 Ref God said to Abraham, "Don't let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your handmaid. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For from Isaac will your seed be called.

13 Ref Also of the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is your seed."

14 Ref Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 Ref The water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 Ref She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, "Don't let me see the death of the child." She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.

17 Ref God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Don't be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

18 Ref Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him in your hand. For I will make him a great nation."

19 Ref God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the bottle with water, and gave the boy drink.

20 Ref God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.

21 Ref He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

22 Ref It happened at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.

23 Ref Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son. But according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have lived as a foreigner."

24 Ref Abraham said, "I will swear."

25 Ref Abraham complained to Abimelech because of a water well, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 Ref Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this thing. Neither did you tell me, neither did I hear of it, until today."

27 Ref Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.

28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 Ref Abimelech said to Abraham, "What do these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves mean?"

30 Ref He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well."

31 Ref Therefore he called that place Beersheba,{Beersheba can mean "well of the oath" or "well of seven."} because they both swore there.

32 Ref So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 Ref Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.

34 Ref Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.

Chapter 21 of 50

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